The man suddenly grew cautious, glancing around before lowering his voice. Nan Sinning leaned closer to catch his words: “I heard someone tampered with the core of the secret realm. That’s why such an unusual event happened.”
“How did you hear that?”
“My aunt’s husband’s cousin’s third aunt’s neighbor’s nephew works at the City Lord’s mansion. My news is absolutely true!”
Nan Sinning: …
So cultivators also had such ridiculously complicated family trees?
“The core of the secret realm?! Can that be tampered with so casually?” someone else exclaimed too loudly.
“Quiet!”
They looked around again. Seeing only a clueless little girl of about fifteen or sixteen, they felt reassured and continued, “As for who it was, I don’t know. But the City Lord’s mansion will definitely find out. That person had better have died inside. If not, neither the City Lord’s mansion nor the Flowing Cloud Sect will let him go!”
“Even if that’s true, what does it have to do with us? The City Lord and Flowing Cloud Sect can settle the score. But where do unlucky cultivators like us go for compensation?”
“You’re wrong. Most didn’t gain anything this time, but some got lucky. One ate the Blazing Heart Soul Fruit and survived the Kuiwood Snake. Another even got the Sword Bone!”
“I’ve heard about the Blazing Heart Soul Fruit. But once eaten, it’s gone. What’s this about the Sword Bone?”
The conversation drifted to the Sword Bone, and Nan Sinning lost interest.
She had dared to announce eating the Blazing Heart Soul Fruit because once swallowed, it couldn’t be retrieved. But a Sword Bone could be dug out and used by someone else.
Just as she’d hoped, the Sword Bone rumor had spread. Heh. From now on, Luo Qingyao would face endless harassment and attacks. As long as Luo Qingyao suffered, Nan Sinning was happy.
Her mood soared, and even queuing became easier to endure.
At last, it was their turn. Nan Sinning checked the jade slip’s price list—different grades and qualities of spirit plants had detailed prices. Everything was transparent.
She wasn’t familiar with this world’s economy, but since cultivators accepted the prices, there was no big scam.
Satisfied, she began pulling items from her storage ring.
The round-faced shopkeeper at the counter waited patiently, smiling when the pretty girl produced a pile of bundled plants. But when he looked closely, he froze. First-rank Plain Wheat Grass.
His smile stiffened.
Still, as an experienced clerk, he hid his disappointment and said politely, “Little Daoist, we don’t purchase Plain Wheat Grass.”
Nan Sinning waved it off. “I’m not selling that.”
That grass was for her to refine Fasting Pills—of course she wouldn’t sell it.
Then she brought out several more piles of low-level plants. The shopkeeper’s professional smile nearly cracked; he began suspecting she was there to make trouble.
Before she could finish sorting, a mocking laugh rang out. “Treating low-level plants like treasures? How embarrassing!”
Nan Sinning turned. There stood Xiao Jingwen, dressed once again in Medicine King City disciple robes, strutting down from the second floor.
Just a few hours ago he’d been pitiful, but in expensive robes he regained his smug demeanor.
Nan Sinning looked him over and bluntly said, “Sorry, Daoist Xiao, after you put on clothes, I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“Pfft—”
Laughter rippled through the store. Her words reminded everyone of how more than ten male cultivators had been ejected nearly naked from the secret realm earlier that day—one of the hottest topics besides what had happened inside.
Naturally, the Sword Bone rumor had spread quickly alongside it.
Xiao Jingwen immediately recalled his humiliation. The fragile defense he had built in the past hours collapsed with that single remark.
His face turned red. “Y-You’re a shameless girl!”
Nan Sinning sneered. So easy to provoke? His mentality was too fragile.
“I only spoke the truth. Better than the way you all burst out half-dressed. Go fix your own mess first.”
Ignoring him, she set aside the low-level plants and finally pulled out the ones she meant to sell.
The shopkeeper opened the first jade box and gasped. “This is fifth-rank Heartless Wood?!”
Nan Sinning nodded casually. “I think so.”
The second box: “Th-this is fifth-rank Soul-Calming Grass?”
Another: “The Moon-Concealed Jade Lotus?!”
“And a third-rank Blood-Thorn Flower?”
…
Box after box piled up. The shopkeeper felt dizzy. Who brought so many rare herbs at once?!
“Little Daoist, you mean to sell all of these?” he asked cautiously, peeking from behind the mountain of jade boxes.
Nan Sinning blinked. “If I’m not selling them, would I bring them out just to show off? Some people here may look down on others, but I won’t waste time arguing with dogs.”
Xiao Jingwen, still loitering nearby, took the insult straight to heart. He fumed but didn’t dare drive her away—if she left, he’d gain nothing.
The shopkeeper, oblivious to Xiao Jingwen’s expression, ignored her latter words and flattered, “Splendid! To be so young and already capable of gathering such rare herbs—remarkable indeed!”
Nan Sinning said offhandedly, “Not much. Just good luck.”
It was true—some herbs had been collected with the help of the Frost Wolf, others were simply stolen. Hardly any real effort.
But in Xiao Jingwen’s eyes, her words were pure boasting, aimed at slapping him in the face.
Grinding his teeth, he glared while Nan Sinning ignored him, focusing only on confirming the types and quality of the herbs, watching closely as the accounts were tallied.
When thousands of top-grade spirit stones finally landed in her bag, her mood soared. The feeling of sudden wealth was truly wonderful!
In her joy, she shoved a handful of spirit stones at Zhou Lixing. “Third senior brother, buy whatever you like. Don’t worry about the cost!”
Zhou Lixing grinned and accepted. “Alright!”
The shopkeeper, having finalized the account, eagerly added, “Little Daoist, feel free to browse. No shop in Luoshui City has a wider range of pills, and our prices are the fairest!”
Nan Sinning, still in high spirits, said, “Then I’ll have a look.”
She wandered over to the sparsely visited bookshelves. The shop sold not only pills but also alchemy-related items—furnaces, pill recipes, techniques, hand seals, and manuals.
Some were written books, others jade slips, neatly categorized.
She picked out a few basic pill recipes and alchemy guides. Though she had knowledge from the system, her fundamentals were weak. And since she’d told her seniors she wanted to be an alchemist, she had to show action.
As she focused on choosing, a sneering voice drifted over again: “You? Learn alchemy? Become an alchemist?”
Nan Sinning didn’t need to look to know who it was.
“I warned senior brother Shen, but he must not have listened. He said he remembered, too.”
“What?” Xiao Jingwen was caught off guard, thinking she was about to invoke his eldest senior brother’s authority.
But Nan Sinning added, “Now I think you not only eat poorly, but your brain’s connected straight to your gut. Otherwise, why does everything that comes out of your mouth sound like shit?”
Even Zhou Lixing, usually slow to react, burst out laughing.
Xiao Jingwen’s face turned not just red but green.
Seeing him too angry to speak, Nan Sinning rolled her eyes without mercy. Did he think all her practice in online cursing was for nothing?
After buying her books and pills, she strutted out of the shop.
Next, she stopped at a blacksmith’s to ask how long it would take to forge a Xuan-gold iron cauldron.
Zhou Lixing immediately guessed it was for him and hurried to dissuade her. “Little junior sister, my master already gave me an iron ladle. I don’t need a cauldron.”
But Nan Sinning shook her head. “You don’t get it. A cauldron isn’t just for training and fighting—it can also be used for cooking! One pot, many uses. Totally worth it!”
Zhou Lixing asked doubtfully, “Really?”
“Of course!” she replied firmly.
He was about to ask more when Nan Sinning suddenly grew excited. “Isn’t that senior sister?”